SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Mackenzie Tricker extended her lead in the 2014 AMA Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX) with an impressive victory at this weekend’s FMF California Classic, round three of the WMX series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California.
Except for a first-moto tip-over—the result of a collision with Team Green Kawasaki’s Brandy Richards—Tricker had few problems en route to a double moto victory as the Australian motocross star topped the WMX podium with a perfect 1-1 score. Kawasaki rider Marissa Markelon finished second overall with a 2-2 total, while Japanese rider Sayaka Kaneshiro rounded out the podium in third after posting a 3-3 tally.
In moto one, Tricker led a talented field into the first lap on the heavily watered Glen Helen course. On lap two, Tricker made a mistake at the bottom of Glen Helen’s famous hill known as Mt. St. Helens, allowing Richards to pass into the lead. A few turns later the two riders collided, sending them both to the ground. Tricker was able to remount quickly and get back underway, although now in second place behind Kaneshiro. Richards was much slower to rejoin the race and lost several positions in the process.
Tricker wasted no time moving in on the new leader, and passed Kaneshiro in a mud hole to retake the lead. From there, Tricker pulled away to take the first moto victory.
While Tricker and Kaneshiro were battling for the lead, Kawasaki rider Marissa Markelon worked her way up within striking distance of the lead group and passed Kaneshiro to claim second at the finish with Kaneshiro settling for third on her Troy Lee Designs Honda.
Moto two went a lot smoother for Tricker, starting off with another holeshot. Once in the lead, she pulled away to a huge advantage before taking an easy win ahead of Markelon and Kaneshiro, almost a carbon copy of race one, without the crash.
The double moto victory gave Tricker a total of 50 points for the day and extended her lead in the series point standings to 43 points over Markelon, who is second.
“This feels extremely good, this is definitely what I was aiming for this weekend,” said Tricker. “This has been a goal of mine for a long time to win this title and I’ve just got to keep the ball rolling now.”
After three rounds, Tricker sits atop the series standings with 147 points. Markelon is second overall with 104 points, while Taylor Higgins is in third with 80 points.
Ticker headed back to South Carolina on Monday where she will resume her training in preparation of round four of the series, which takes place on June 29 at Mammoth Lakes, California.
For more information about the 2014 Women's Motocross Series, visit the official website at RaceWMX.com or follow Race WMX on Facebook.com/racewmx and at Twitter @RaceWMX.
Women’s Motocross Championship
Glen Helen Raceway
San Bernardino, CA
Round 3 of 8
Overall Results:
1. Mackenzie Tricker (Yam)
2. Melissa Markelon (Kaw)
3. Sayaka Kaneshiro (Hon)
4. Hailey Larson (Yam)
5. Shelby Rolen (Yam)
6. Cortney Roewer (KTM)
7. Jessica Goodman (Yam)
8. Amber Felicio (Hon)
9. Glad Limbaugh (Suz)
10. Christel Allen (Hon)
11. Brandy Richards (Kaw)
12. Victoria Johnson (Kaw)
